Blog

The Turning Tides Project has had an amazing first year which ended with our Birthday Party and our presence at The Exeter Respect Festival: we enjoyed both enormously. You can find out more about them futher down this Blog page. I’d like to share with you some of our plans for the coming year...This blog is coming directly to you because you (or the organisation you represent) have been directly involved with the work of The Turning Tides Project (TTTP) in some way. Some parts of the newsletter will be more relevant to you than others, perhaps, but The Turning Tides Project’s success depends on the interaction between each area so it felt important that I shared the whole with you all.The Tudor TrustFirstly, I am thrilled to be able to tell you that we have been successful in gaining core funding for the next three years from The Tudor Trust. The Trust has been extremely positive and supportive about TTT, and that encouragement is priceless: A huge thanks to The Tudor Trust. On a practical level the funding means that we can now move forward with our plans to develop TTTP as a sustainable Community Interest Company. The Turning Tides Project at Arnos ValeYou may also have already seen (on the ﻿blog ﻿section of our website) an announcement that we were successful in securing a Grants for The Arts. This grant is for a specific music-led performance project at Arnos Vale, in Bristol and started last week. This is an exciting and important commissioned work for TTTP: there are many and varied opportunities for people to get involved in this project. The Turning Tides Project at Arnos Vale has its own (very new) space on our web page.#InclusiveCreditonThe collaborative #inclusivecrediton project is now in full sail, and being very positively received. You’ll find details on our Sessions page and our Blogs and also on the pages of both Active Devon and Mid Devon Leisure.We’d like to develop the use of the #Inclusive logo to mark our other initiatives, projects and collaborations too: so do look out for it.

The Turning Tides Project Web SiteWe have begun some work to develop our web site. We’ll be focusing on developing its accessibility and also its role in promoting and advertising our work. The website received over 27,000 visitors in its first year.The web site now has a shop window: if you’d like a copy of our debut CD you can get it here – and if you already have one and are waiting for the booklet to go with it, it’s now available here as a free download.TTTP Training WorkshopsOur first set of training workshops, designed, developed and delivered by people with and without ‘learning disability’ or ‘autism’ are now available.If you’d like more information about what packages to book places on workshops or book a workshops specifically for your organisation, do get in touch. We’d also like to hear your ideas about what subjects you think should be the focus of the next packages we develop.EPICWe are currently reviewing our development plan for EPIC. Let us know your thoughts about what happens next and keep an eye on the EPIC space on the web page and the TTTP Blog: we’ll announce our next steps here.The Turning Tides Radio VibeWe are about to launch a monthly Radio show on, and in collaboration with, MoorFM. The Radio show will have its own beautiful project space on the web site. Details of the launch and the time and date of the first show will be published as a Blog, within the next two weeks.Getting involved in all or any aspect of the radio show will be a brilliant opportunity to learn some new skills whilst having a lot of fun: as with all TTTP activities, its #Inclusive, so if you’d like to be involved, get in touch.Pub JamsThe Okehampton Pub Jam is proving to be a big success. We’ve just secured some funding for a similar Pub Jam in Crediton and are currently negotiating to secure a venue. The aim is to start the Crediton Pub Jam in August – so keep an eye on the session’s page and the Blog: we’ll announce the launch here as soon as the details are agreed.We’ll be at Okehampton Food and Drink Festival on 6th July: we have a stall and busking space in the Arcade. Come and say hello.

We also have big plans for the Okehampton Carnival in October. There’ll be a number of workshops to create our entry – so watch out for those and come and join in.Over the coming months we will be developing a number of voluntary, sessional, employment and educational opportunities for people with and without ‘learning disability’ or ‘autism’ labels. Details will be available on the web site.If you’d like to be involved in any of the work of The Turning Tides Project, we’d love to hear from you. We will be contacting some of you directly over the next few weeks to share ideas about the way that we work together.Finally, Thank you: We’ve received a huge amount of support, encouragement and enthusiasm from you all in the last year and it’s been very much appreciated.With best wishes Jane Williams, Director of The Turning Tides ProjectWritten by Jane Williams, Published by Dominic Palfreman